John Banzhaf: GWU’s Hate Speech Ban Is Left’s Latest Tactic in War on Free Speech

John Banzhaf, public interest law professor at George Washington University Law School, joined Breitbart News Daily SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Tuesday to discuss his recent column about demands that Milo “promise to abstain from hate speech” at his scheduled speaking engagement at GWU or be banned from appearing at the university.

Banzhaf wrote:

advertisement

Perhaps responding to the growing chorus of criticism of colleges which suddenly disinvite speakers when small groups of students don’t want other students to hear what they have to say, this piece says that Milo Yiannopoulos “should be allowed to come to GW, but he shouldn’t be allowed to target minorities within our student population. Before Yiannopoulos comes, he should assure students and administrators that he will not actively engage in hate speech at GW.”

But this editorial’s author seems to be under the same delusion that many of his colleagues share: that there is a “hate speech” exception to free speech.

But the Supreme Court has said time and again that there is no exception for hate speech under the First Amendment, and that even the most hateful of speech – the burning of the American flag, vile slurs of gays and others at funerals for soldiers – is protected, says public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

“The people who object when someone says something they don’t like may very well be trying out a new tactic here, said Banzhaf. He added:

They’ve been criticized, rightly so, for trying to ban speakers, so here is somebody suggesting, “No, don’t ban him. I believe he should be able to come to campus. He should be able to say what he wants to say. But if he refuses not to engage in hate speech, then he shouldn’t be allowed to come.” So it’s kind of a new tactic.